• Serious Halloween games involve some spook and some fright.halloween image by Freddy Smeets from Fotolia.com
  
  Many Halloween games revolve around frivolity and fun, such as bobbing for apples, wrapping people in toilet paper to resemble mummies, and completing Halloween-themed crossword puzzles and word searches. Many people, tired of these predictable Halloween games, might prefer more serious games, ones that center around horror movies, scary scenes, or creative pumpkin-carving competitions. Incorporating these serious Halloween games ideas into your party plans is sure to result in a spooky good time.
  
  

Horror Movie Clips

• As party guests arrive, ask them to use a provided camcorder to confess their small mistakes or everyday worries in the style of a typical horror movie close-up. Perhaps guests will want to run with the camera in hand to capture the jolting angles of some horror movies. Perhaps they will speak in hushed tones or dart their eyes nervously from side to side as though they are in hiding. Perhaps their clip will end in a scream as the next guest enters the room to take a turn with the camcorder. Allow guests to be creative and gather everyone to watch the video clips at the end of the party. Later, edit the video if you have the necessary computer software and add simple effects, credits, and music. Send the video to party guests as a keepsake.
  
  

Chalk Outlines

• Discreetly ask a few volunteer party guests to allow you to outline their bodies in white chalk on a basement floor or a driveway. This should be reminiscent of crime scenes in scary movies or television dramas. Ask the other party guests to guess whom each outline belongs to by including their own names and the names of the victims on slips of paper. Draw guesses from a jar and award the first three correct guesses with a small bag of Halloween candy.
  
  

Clashing Cleavers

• This game is best suited to a competitive crowd. Either ask guests to bring their own pumpkin to the party, or divide guests into teams and provide a pumpkin for each team to carve. Create categories, such as the two suggested on the Coolest Party Ideas website---"ugliest face" and "spookiest scene" ---and instruct guests to try to beat a timer while carving their original, hopefully prize-worthy creations. Since some guests may not be comfortable handling carving tools, ask for volunteers to aid in judging the carved pumpkins and awarding prizes to the best carved creations.